hospital coffee
by RookieGinge
Summary: Oneshot, set after 'Bad Moon Rising'. Undertones of slight one-sided Sam/Andy. / She sidles up next to his position at the coffee pot, and he hands her the cup he just poured for himself.


**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Rookie Blue._

**_Rated:_**_ T, because I'm cautious._

_A/N: Honestly, I really like Luke this season. (Though I'm still fairly sure that there's is going to be some major drama involving him and Jo relatively soon.) I'm sure that the writers intended for that to happen, since he - like some other character characters - has seemingly done a 180 personality-wise, haha ... When did Andy become so comfortable with commitment, anyways?_

_But I am definitely still a Sam/Andy shipper, and I could not pass up the opportunity to write this interaction! Set after the events of season 2, episode 3, 'Bad Moon Rising'. (Which I loved!)_

_Enough from me. I hope you enjoy!_

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><p>The first time Sam sees her after she goes in to sit with Callaghan, she looks like crap.<p>

Her eyes are haunted, raw, and red-rimmed, her hair is falling haphazardly around her face, and her uniform is rumpled and blood-stained.

Not that any of that is surprising. Her boyfr– her _fiancé_ is currently in critical condition in the ICU after being shot in their home by a schizophrenic out to get her and silence her eternally; he was on the hardwood, bleeding out from two bullet holes in his lower abdomen for who knows how long before they burst inside and called for EMS.

Of course she's a mess right now.

"Hey," he murmurs as she sidles up next to his position at the coffee pot. "It's not _good_, but at a certain point even hospital coffee is acceptable in an absence of the real thing," he says, handing her the cup he just poured for himself and grabbing another one.

"Thanks," Andy says quietly, taking a long sip of it and leaning up against the wall. After another sip, she looks up at him. "I walked out past the chairs in the hallways and figured that everyone had gone home by now." There's clearly a question in her tone.

"By the time one in the morning rolled around, Best decided it wasn't doing Callaghan or anyone else any good for everyone to stand around and deprive themselves of sleep. I offered to stay and relay any changes in his condition and after a little while longer everyone else left," he informs her, swallowing half of his own coffee in one go.

"What time is it now," she asks him, furrowing her brow and scanning the room for a non-existent clock.

"About four, four-thirty, I think. I started dozing off around quarter to three and woke about fifteen minutes ago." She nods, looking down at the cup in her hands. "Have you gotten any sleep?"

She shakes her head, registering the concern in his voice and keeping her eyes averted. "No, haven't been able to. My mind's still running a mile a minute," she confesses, and he's pretty sure he knows what's been going through her head.

He refills his coffee cup, moving to stand at her side against the wall. They stay there for a while in silence, as hospital personnel pass by the ICU waiting room they'd all ignored earlier. She absentmindedly picks at a blood stain on her sleeve for a few minutes; when she notices what she's doing she drops her hand instantly, exhaling shakily.

"You don't have to stay," she tells him, to cut off any comment on her actions. "I can call if anything changes. You should get some sleep."

"So should you," he retorts softly. "I think I'll stick around, though." He knows how much it sucks to wait alone. And he will never be Callaghan's biggest fan, that's for sure, but however long she needs someone to be here – even if she would never admit – he will be.

Her forehead creases, clearly not understanding why he's choosing to hang around a hospital through all hours of the night when the injured party isn't someone he even remotely likes, but she nods.

She jumps when he lays a hand on her shoulder gently, but he leaves it there in a gesture of comfort until her muscles relax again. "He's strong, you know," he interjects, breaking the silence. She looks up at him this time, and he continues, clarifying unnecessarily, "Callaghan, I mean. He's not the type to go down without a fight. This is no exception."

And yeah, maybe he can't know that this is going alright. He heard what the doctor said, about the next 48 hours being mostly touch-and-go, and he's making a promise about something which he has absolutely no control over. But it makes her stand a little straighter, with a little more resolve in her posture and her expression, and it's worth it just to see her looking marginally less miserable.

He stays standing there long after she finishes her coffee and goes back to sit with Callaghan; long after his coffee turns cold and he wants nothing more than to succumb into his exhaustion. He stands, waiting for news and hoping for her sake that it's of the good variety.

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><p><em>The end.<em>

_Please review and let me know what you thought!_

_Oh, and is anyone else super excited about tonight's new ep? I am!_


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